COIPA April Advocate
COVID - 19
Preparedness 4/15/2020
|
|
In this issue:
- COIPA CARES Act Webinar
- Immediate Infusion Of $30 Billion Into Healthcare System
- COVID-19 Provider Relief Medicaid Withhold Suspension Notice
- St. Charles Medical Library
- Clinics Open & Here To Help
- Message's From Your Fellow Colleagues
- Clinics Offering Telemedicine
- Telehealth Updates From CMS 4/10/20
- Technical Assistance For EHR's
- Staying Informed On COVID-19
- CORD (Central Oregon Resource Directory): Central Oregon Health Council
- Washington State Department Of Health
- Oregon Health Authority
- Clinics In Need Of PPE Quickly
- Job Postings For COIPA Members
- Funding Options: First Interstate Bank
- At Home Work Stations: Pacific Office Automation
|
|
COIPA hosted a webinar on the CARES Act to give our members the chance to learn about business resources that can be a benefit to your business:
- on federally funded programs through the CARES Act by Lisa Kyles, Small Business Development Center,
- on employer and employee resources available through Worksource Oregon by Dana Dunlap , Worksource Oregon, and
- on resources available to Oregon businesses by Tom Schnell, State of Oregon Finance Office.
|
|
Immediate infusion of $30 billion into healthcare system
|
Recognizing the importance of delivering funds in a fast and transparent manner, $30 billion is being distributed immediately – with payments arriving via direct deposit beginning April 10, 2020 – to eligible providers throughout the American healthcare system. These are payments, not loans, to healthcare providers, and will not need to be repaid.
|
|
COV
D-19 Provider Relief Medicaid Withhold Suspension Notice
|
Dear providers,
At the end of March
2020
we sent out a notice informing our providers of our
Provider Relief Plan
detailing steps we were
immediately executing
to help support you during COVID-19.
Those details pertained to the elimination of administrative responsibilities for providers, as well as some financial accommodations aimed at ensuring cash flow to our contracted providers. As an
addition
al component
to the
Provider Relief Plan
,
we will be
suspending Medicaid withhold
s
for services provided to OHP members of PacificSource Community Solutions in the months of April, May and June of 2020
.
This applies to both claims risk withhold, and any withhold we take on capitated or pre-payments to providers.
We want to take the time to thank our providers for the ongoing care you are giving to your patients. Our goal has always been to partner with our providers and collaborate. We hope this additional support along with the Provider Relief Plan helps aid our providers during this time. Please know
additional communication regarding opportunities for financial support will be coming soon.
Sincerely,
PacifcSource
|
|
|
|
St. Charles is here to help with research requests and questions.
|
St. Charles CME department wanted to share their new Medical Library website specifically for providers. St. Charles medical librarians are available to assist our members with any research requests or questions which they may have.
St. Charles
announced
drive up COVID-19 Testing to start April 16, 2020.
|
|
Note:
Clinicians throughout the community can order COVID-19 testing at their discretion through commercial labs WITHOUT approval by public health.
Quick links to the labs are housed online at
COIPA's
website.
|
|
Clinics spreading the word that they are open and here for you.
|
|
Message's from your fellow colleagues:
|
|
Greetings from Hood River, I just wanted to reach out briefly today, thinking of all the challenges for independent practices during this wild time of a pandemic. My independent pediatrics practice in Hood River is flexible enough that if a doctor were to suddenly be called out in quarantine, I could make arrangements to help. Since I’m not aware of another platform to let doctors know that, thought I’d send you a quick note in case you get word that a practice needs help during the exciting weeks ahead… Hope you are staying healthy!
Rich Martin
Pediatrician, Hood River
|
|
Summit/BMC is open for business with full service laboratory and radiology for all non-symptomatic patients. We also have virtual visits with our urgent care and can flu swab and COVID test patients at curb side as well as a separate process for x-ray when needed based on provider orders. SMGO is screening at the building’s entrances for symptomatic patients and offering all patients with any symptoms virtual video visits on our secure platform integrated into EPIC.
If any of our partners in the IPA need anything they can always reach out to Dr. Massine or Justin Sivill and they will try to assist in any way we can.
|
|
Hello,
I am asking for this message to be emailed to the Central Oregon members to be sure they know we are still open to care for their patients, primarily their breast cancer patients. If you would email this out I would be grateful.
Thank you,
Dr. Andy Higgins MD, FACS
2450 NE Mary Rose PL
Suite 205
Bend, OR 97701
drandyhiggins.com
541-749-7000 (phone)
541-749-7005 (fax)
|
|
Madras Medical Group is open to serve Jefferson County during the COVID-19 pandemic! We have routine and urgent care available 8-6 M-F and 8-1 on Saturdays. Many visits can be handled through telehealth video visits. All patients with respiratory symptoms are seen in a separate area of the clinic with a separate entrance to keep our lobby as safe as possible. Patients with fever and cough will be seen in their car and never enter the building. All patients and staff will be masked during patient care.
Gary M Plant MD
|
|
Telemedicine: The following COIPA clinics have announced that they are currently offering televisits to their patients
|
|
4/10/20 Telehealth Updates from CMS
|
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
announced
that organizations, including those in Medicare Advantage (MA), that submit diagnoses for risk adjusted payment are now able to submit diagnoses for risk adjustment that are from telehealth visits. APG has been vigorously advocating for this modification and we applaud CMS for taking this meaningful action.
Submission for these visits are allowed when they meet all criteria for risk adjustment, which include:
- The visit is from an allowable inpatient, outpatient, or professional service, and
- A face-to-face encounter
- This requirement is met when the services are provided using an interactive audio and video telecommunications system that permits real-time interactive communication
The use of diagnoses from telehealth services applies to submissions to the Risk Adjustment Processing System (RAPS) and those submitted to the Encounter Data System (EDS). For EDS, MA organizations (and other organizations as required) report all the services they provide to enrollees to the system and CMS will then identify those diagnoses that meet risk adjustment filtering criteria. In order to report services to the EDS that have been provided via telehealth, providers are advised to use place of service code “02” for telehealth or use the CPT telehealth modifier “95” with any place of service.
|
|
Technical Assistance for EHR's
|
COIPA will continue to provide health IT assistance free of charge to help members incorporate virtual visits and telemedicine into their practice workflows. As we shift into a “new normal”, remember that we are available to help with many areas of COVID-related HIT including making sure you have the current codes, are exchanging data with the community, updating lab interfaces for new testing options, patient messaging, ad hoc reporting, etc.
If you would like assistance with EHR features or health IT solutions, please don’t hesitate to contact James McCormack, COIPA’s Director of Informatics, directly at
jmccormack@coipa.org
or by cell phone at 503-307-7994. In addition to extensive experience with eClinicalWorks, COIPA has access to an expert Athena consultant, Jensina Hawkins, who is also standing by to help. For users of Epic and other EHRs, COIPA recognizes that you may already have strong health IT support from your internal IT and/or vendors, but we stand ready to help in any way we can.
|
|
Caravan's guides to adapting AWVs & E/M visits to a telehealth format:
|
|
Staying informed on COVID-19
|
|
The Department of Health for Washington has created a web page dedicated to keeping our community up to date and informed on the current state of COVID-19. Click the link below for the most current information.
|
|
Central Oregon Health Council has created a web page dedicated to keeping our community up to date and informed on the most impactful COVID-19 communications. Below is link to the new site.
|
|
Oregon Health Association has a dedicated site to keep you update on the pressing COVID-19 impacts. Below is a quick link to the site.
|
|
To help stay on top of the surge here is a useful
link
for reference
|
|
If your clinic(s) needs PPE urgently, here are some options:
|
|
 |
COIPA has a small amount of homemade masks in our office. Please contact
COIPA
if you are in need and we will coordinate the delivery.
Our community is banding together to make masks for our front line workers. If you are interested in helping or know of others who want to help please reach out to
Deschutes County Mask Project.
If you are in need of these homemade masks please select the link below to be connected with COIPA and we will arrange the delivery to your clinic.
The image above is our Central Oregon Family Medicine crew sending a "Thank You" to our community and to Deschutes County Mask Project.
|
|
|
|
If your clinic needs PPE urgently, the Oregon Health Authority has set up a logistics branch that is coordinating dissemination of PPEs in light of short supply. To make this request, you will need to fill out the request survey:
link to survey
Your external request via the above link will be routed through Logistics Branch and automatically be routed to the ordering team.
If you have multiple clinics/facilities throughout the region, you only need to fill out one survey but should consider PPE numbers for all of your facilities. Information collected in this survey is being used for County and State planning purposes and is considered for official use only. Please be aware that this survey is not an official resource request. However, please note that at the end of the survey there is a link that will help you place an actual order.
2) COIPA can set up a workflow for taking up and disseminating donated alternatives to N95 masks using CDC recommendations which includes volunteer collection of homemade masks that satisfy certain specs as referenced on the CDC website using the following links:
Please let us know how many of these masks you need by contacting
Contact COIPA
|
|
|
|
Job Postings for COIPA Members
|
COIPA is updating our
web site
to add available staff resources (“help available”) in our community in addition to open positions (“help wanted”). We recognize the current crisis is already having an impact on our clinical and administrative workforce and will post and update announcements submitted by
email
.
Please be sure to indicate whether you have staff available to other members, or your own needs for additional staff.
Note:
While COIPA will providing this space, we are not responsible for connecting and vetting individuals. Postings must include contact information and any specifications for “help available” or “help wanted”.
|
|
|
|
Clinics Needing Additional Funding During This Time
|
|
|
|
For our clinics needing information regarding obtaining a loan from First Interstate to assist with operations during the COVID-19 outbreak please reach out to:
Dawn Cofer
541-330-7555
|
|
Remote Workstation Assistance To POA Clients
|
|
The team at Pacific Office Automation can help with setting up at home workstations to help keep your office and staff going.
Sean Walsh
Doug Judish
541-388-1276
|
|
|
|
Mission
COIPA is committed to our members' success by:
- Providing sustainable support services
- Incentivizing quality care
- Engaging individuals for improvement
- Partnering with the community
|
|
We want to hear all of the exciting changes, new services, promotions, and events that our members have scheduled in 2020 and share it monthly in the Advocate.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
